On Tuesday March 20, Monta Vista Track & Field had the honor of hosting a visit from Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton.
Stephanie Brown Trafton
Stephanie is the current, defending Olympic champion in the discus. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Stephanie Brown Trafton won the United States’ first gold medal in the women’s discus since Lillian Copeland won in 1932–76 years before! Stephanie also was a member of the USA Olympic team in 2004 in Athens, and is training for the Olympic team trials in Eugene, Oregon, this coming June with the goal of returning to the Olympics again in London this coming August. Stephanie played basketball as her primary sport in high school, as well as throwing the shot and discus for her high school track team. She gives a lot of credit to her time on the track team to helping her basketball, and she earned a basketball scholarship to attend Cal Poly after high school. An ACL injury ended her basketball career, and she turned her focus to track and field, with remarkable results.
During her talk with the Monta Vista team, Stephanie talked about the ups and downs of an elite athlete, and above all the perseverance and persistence that was required to earn her gold medal. She trains hard, consistently, year round in order to achieve her goals, and despite her many setbacks and doubts she continued to persevere in pursuit of her goal. Stephanie is 6’3” tall, and when asked about how it feels to stand out in a crowd; Stephanie was very open in talking about how when she was young, she felt self-conscious, but eventually she embraced her height until now she owns it. Now she says she is a little upset when she is not the tallest person in the room—a great message for everyone who feels a little out of synch with their peers: Own your uniqueness!
Another highlight was Stephanie’s gold medal. Your coach did not have the nerve to ask Stef to bring her medal, figuring that it was locked up safe in a trophy case somewhere, but she brought it along. For everyone who was there, holding Stephanie’s Olympic gold medal was magical. There is something amazing about an Olympic medal; it’s not just metal anymore, somehow the emotions of every athlete who has every pursued excellence is embedded into the object, and all athletes can feel that energy when we touch that medal. It’s electric. (And if you missed this…don’t you wish you had got to practice on time that day?)
Stephanie and the MV Throwers
After her talk, Stephanie went out and tossed the discus with Monta Vista’s throwers, signed autographs, and posed for photos with our athletes.
Thank you, Stephanie, for a wonderful day!
And good luck on your pursuit of a second gold medal!
(Anyone who wants to drop off a note or thank you card to Stephanie, Coach Flatow will package these all up and send them to her. It would be a great gesture if you were moved by her talk!)
